Riverside Luxury Cruises revives Crystal’s legacy with elevated service, flexible experiences, standout dining, and a focus on younger, affluent travelers seeking ultra-luxury river cruising.
Riverside Luxury Cruises is adding the Rhine river to its offerings. The new luxury cruise company introduces Riverside Debussy, which begins sailing the fabled Rhine at the end of March. I spent 11 days on Debussy in October of 2021, sailing on the Rhine and Moselle rivers. Debussy, then, sailed under the Crystal River Cruises banner. When that company succumbed to rapid expansion thwarted by the global pandemic that halted travel, Riverside acquired Crystal’s lovely ships to offer its own unique style of luxury on the European rivers. This post will give you a feel for Riverside Debussy.
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises announces the addition of two new Super Ships, the S.S. Victoria and S.S. Elisabeth, which will begin sailing in Europe in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Uniworld will take over the ships from Seaside Collection under a three-year, bareboat charter agreement for each ship and create the signature Uniworld experience on existing itineraries with an all-Uniworld staff, as well as the brand’s trademark touches and amenities.
Nearly a year after Crystal’s ships ceased sailing, Riverside Luxury Cruises acquired the double-width Crystal Mozart. That left four recently built Crystal river cruisers with an uncertain fate – Bach, Ravel, Mahler and Debussy. Last week, Riverside acquired the remaining four ships. How much of Crystal will Riverside preserve, if any, and how will the new river cruise company differ?
One of my favorite river cruise vessels will soon be back in service, the m/s Mozart. I first cruised on the storied ship in 2008, when she was operated by Peter Deilmann. Aside from being awed by Mozart’s impressive width, nearly double that of a typical river cruise ship, I’d never been on a river cruiser with an indoor pool.
Our post about Crystal’s woes sparked all sorts of responses, from tears among Crystal’s current and former employees to past guests and travel advisors expressing hope for Crystal’s survival. While most everyone who responded was cheering on Crystal, hoping for the company to emerge from its dire predicament, some suggested that Crystal had it coming by raising the bar too high (and charging its guests accordingly).
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